for sojourners and exiles, dearly beloved (1 Pet. 2:11)

Gift of Righteousness

I’ve been thinking a bit lately about justification as well as other doctrines which I believe are at the heart of the Christian faith and gospel. One of these is the doctrine of the imputed righteousness of Christ unto the believer. This is where Christ’s perfect righteousness, shown in his perfect obedience to God the Father during his life on earth, is given (gifted) to those who believe in him. All of Christs good works, get credited to the sinner, who hasn’t done any good works, but merely looks to Christ alone in faith.

“And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” (Rom 4.5)

Now let me ask you. Do you find this idea and easy one? Is it something you would just pass by and say “Yeah, I’ve heard that along time ago. It’s no big deal”? Or do you find that you’ve overlooked this concept, and that upon further investigation find it a bit out of the ordinary? Extravagant maybe? Amazing grace, maybe?

So let me ask you.

If the Son of God, who is beyond all things glorious and beautiful, who’s life alone is worth more to God then all the galaxies combined, who’s one drop of blood was enough to pay for the sins of the whole world, who’s works of righteousness deserve glorious rewards of riches in heaven along with eternal life; if he offered to you, with outstretched hand, all the merit of his righteousness (though you have done nothing for it, and in fact have done everything to deserve the opposite); if he offered it to you, all of this, would you take it? Would you accept it?

Or would you wait until you had offered up enough good works of your own – your own obedience?

Well Let me tell you right now, if you attempt to work towards righteousness yourself, your efforts will prove futile though you live to be a thousand years old. Your righteousness will never work. It will always fail. You may try and try again. But it will be useless. Why? Because you’re a sinner. I’m a sinner. We’re all sinners. And what’s that got to do with anything, one may ask? It means we’ve been infected with a disease which makes all our efforts contaminated and faulty. What’s more, most of the time we don’t even want to do good things, let alone doing them for the right reasons. And it’s a fatal disease, with 100 percent mortality rate, which we’ve all been infected with from birth. So basically, (I know it sounds fatalistic) but we’re doomed. We’re hopeless and helpless. All going to die!

But this is where Christ’s work comes in. In the same way that Adam’s disobedience (when he ate the forbidden fruit in garden of Eden) infected all his children with with sin and thereby brought death to them all, Christ’s OBEDIENCE has been imputed to all his children by grace and thereby brings life to them all!

“For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Rom 5.17)

“The free gift of righteousness.” WOW! That is just huge!

“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Rom 5.18-19)

So let me ask you again? If Christ were to offer to you his obedience (with all it’s worth) free of charge — all of grace — and all you would have to do is accept the gift — would you do it? Would you open and outstretch your hands to receive this precious gift? Or would you deny him this generosity. Would you believe the Son of God, when he says he has “given up his life as a ransom for many,” rr would you turn away in unbelief, thinking there may be another way. Would you recognize God’s righteous declaration that you are a sinner deserving eternal death in hell and that your only hope for salvation is in the righteousness of another — namely Jesus Christ, or would you scorn this free offer of salvation. Let me put it to you as seriously and yet as lovingly and yet as truthfully as I can… Your life depends on it.

The Word of Christ tells us,

“[T]o the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,” (Rom 4.5)

Paul later tells us,

“It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Rom 4.24b-25)

But now to you who have believed in Christ, who have trusted in him alone for your righteousness and salvation, let me tell you take heart. For just as surely as in your physical birth you inherited your sin nature (which I’m sure you are somewhat familiar) with all it’s debts which bring about death, so too in your spiritual birth (upon believing in Christ) you have now inherited the righteousness of Christ with all it’s merits which lead to eternal life.

This is the gospel! And this is the grace of God to us in Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

“Let us rejoice in the hope of the glory of God” and in this way glorify Him who has done these things for us, and who alone deserves praise forevermore. Amen.